JPH04177597A - Testing device for supervisory center for remote supervisory equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To test all the parts comprising a supervisory center by transmitting data for test via communication equipment. receiving it via another communication equipment, and comparing and judging transmission and reception data with each other at that time. CONSTITUTION:The data for test is received by another communication equipment, for example, 3b via certain one communication equipment, for example, 3a, and is inputted to a controller 5 to perform a test by a transmission means. The data for test outputted previously is compared with inputted reception data by a comparison means 10, and the presence of abnormality is outputted from an output means when no prescribed correspondence relation exists between them, and also, plural communication equipment which transmit the data for test are specified. Thereby, it is possible to specify the communication equipment in which the abnormality occurs without attaching a specific device even when the abnormality occurs in specified communication equipment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a remote monitoring device, and more particularly to a testing device for a monitoring center for a remote monitoring device that tests the operation of a monitoring center.

[Prior Art] In recent years, buildings such as buildings are equipped with a large amount of equipment such as elevators, escalators, rooftop water tanks, various electrical equipment, and air conditioning equipment. Convenient for those who do.

They provide safety and comfort, but on the other hand, if they malfunction, they not only cause a great deal of inconvenience to people, but if an elevator or the like malfunctions, there is a risk of an accident resulting in injury or death. For this reason, managers assigned to buildings were assigned to monitor these equipment for failures, but as the equipment became more sophisticated and complex, specialist knowledge was required, and the managers were no longer able to handle the problem.

Therefore, remote monitoring systems have been adopted in recent years. This remote monitoring system has a configuration in which terminal devices that input signals from various equipment in the building are placed in the building, and many of these terminal devices are connected to a monitoring center via telephone lines. When an abnormality occurs in equipment in a certain building, the abnormality is reported from the building's terminal device to the monitoring center, and the monitoring center receives the notification and takes appropriate measures such as quickly dispatching a specialist. ing.

By the way, in such a remote monitoring system, even if a failure occurs in either the signal transmission line of the terminal device or the monitoring center, the monitoring function will be lost, so the presence or absence of any abnormality is checked at appropriate intervals. need to be tested.

In addition, in such a remote monitoring system, for example,
When a failure occurs in a certain terminal device, the effect of the failure is limited to the equipment in the building managed by the terminal device, but if a failure occurs in the monitoring center, it has a large negative impact on the functionality of the entire system, and the type of failure In some cases, the system may stop functioning. For this reason, it is particularly desirable to test the monitoring center itself for abnormalities at short intervals, but this requires a worker to go to the terminal equipment, which is troublesome.

To solve this problem, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1-135298
As shown in FIG. 2 of the publication, a test device has been proposed in which a monitoring center is equipped with a simulated terminal device, and this terminal device is connected to a computer in the monitoring center to conduct a test.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, with the above-mentioned conventional test equipment, it is necessary to prepare a new terminal device for simulation, which not only increases the cost, but also requires that each terminal be directly connected to the telephone line. It is not possible to test the modem, that is, the communication device that converts signals to and from the equipment. Furthermore, considering that there is a high probability that the above-mentioned communication device will fail in the monitoring center, this problem cannot be ignored. Incidentally, although FIG. 1 of the above-mentioned publication describes a configuration in which a test is conducted between a main computer and a sub-computer installed in a monitoring center by omitting the simulated terminal device, this configuration is a simple computer-to-computer test. It is not possible to check in between.

An object of the present invention is to provide a testing device for a monitoring center for a remote monitoring device that can easily test the entire monitoring center without using a simulated terminal device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention creates a necessary signal to be transmitted to a specific terminal device by a communication device, and also generates a signal based on the signal received by the communication device. A transmission means that sequentially transmits a control device that performs a predetermined process from a plurality of specific communication devices to all other communication devices, and a comparison that compares the test data with the received data received by the communication device of the above function. and an output means for notifying an abnormality when the comparison means determines that there is no accurate correspondence between the communication signal and the communication signal.

[Function] Since the test device for a monitoring center for a remote monitoring device according to the present invention has the above-described configuration, the transmitting means transmits test data for testing via one communication device to another communication device. is inputted to the control device, but the comparison means compares the previously output test data and the input received data, and if the two do not have a predetermined correspondence relationship, the output means outputs the existence of an abnormality, Moreover, as mentioned above, multiple communication devices that transmit test data are specified, so even if there is an abnormality in the specified communication device, the communication device in which the abnormality occurred can be identified without adding any special equipment. can do.

[Example] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a testing device for a monitoring center for a remote monitoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The remote monitoring device monitoring center 11 has a plurality of telephone lines 2a to
2h to the telephone exchange 1. Each telephone line 2a to 2h is connected to eight communication devices i3a to 3h with a specific telephone number.
3a to 3h modulate a transmission signal from the monitoring center 11 to each terminal device (not shown) and demodulate a reception signal transmitted over a connected telephone line, and a communication device 38
~3h also has a function of automatic dialing of destinations. The communication devices 38 to 3d are connected to a communication processing device i40 that is in charge of these transmissions and receptions, and are
3h is a communication processing bag that is in charge of these transmissions and receptions! ! 41
and both communication processing devices 40 and 41 are connected to A/D.
It is equipped with a conversion and D/A converter.

These communication processing devices 40, 41 are connected to a CPU (central processing unit) 5 that processes signals exchanged with the remote monitoring device. This CPU 5 has a hard disk 6 that stores programs and data for normal monitoring operations.
, a keyboard 7 used by the operator of the monitoring center 11 to input necessary commands, etc. to the CPU 5;
A display 8 that displays the processing results of the PU 5 and input items from the keyboard 7, and an auxiliary storage device that outputs test signals! 9 and a data comparison circuit 10 that compares the test signal with the input signal are connected to each other.

Next, the operation of this test apparatus will be explained.First, the overall processing procedure will be explained using the flowchart of FIG. 2, and then the test procedure will be explained using the flowchart of FIG.

As shown in step Sl in FIG. 2, when an abnormality occurs in the equipment during normal monitoring operation, the terminal device managing the equipment issues the telephone number of the monitoring center 11, for example, the telephone number of the communication device i3a. Automatic dialing is performed, and the terminal device and the communication device 3a are connected via the telephone line 2a,
Signals regarding abnormalities are exchanged with the monitoring center 11.

If the communication device 3a is connected to another terminal device at this time, the telephone exchange 1 automatically connects to the vacant communication device.

When the normal monitoring process is completed, the CP, -U 5 checks whether the test request button has been pressed, as in step S2 of FIG. This test request button corresponds to, for example, a specific key on the keyboard 7, but it can also be installed as a separate independent switch, and in either case, it is operated by the operator when a test is required.

If the test request button has not been pressed, the process returns to step S1. If testing is required,
In step S3, the CPU 5 imports the test data stored in the auxiliary storage device 9, that is, the test signal and the test program.Then, in step S4, a test is executed according to the imported program. In this test process, test data is transmitted and received using one communication device and another communication device, and data comparison is performed using the data comparison circuit 10, as will be described later. When this test communication is completed, as in step S5, it is determined whether or not all the communication devices 38 to 3h have performed both transmission and reception of test data, and if not,
Returning to step S4, the test is executed using the communication device that has not yet been tested.

Next, the test process in step S4 in FIG. 2 will be explained using the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step S41, the CPU 5 selects an arbitrary communication device, for example, the communication device F 3 a, and retrieves its telephone number from its own storage unit. Next, the CPU 5 selects a communication device other than the previously selected communication device i3a, for example, the communication device 3h, and transmits the test data that has already been taken in and the telephone number of the communication device E3a in step S42. These reach the communication device 3h via the communication processing device 41,
Automatic dialing is performed using the sent telephone number of the communication device 3a, and when the communication device 3a is connected via the exchange 1, test data is transmitted. The CPU 5 checks whether test data has been input from the communication device 3a according to step S43. If test data has not been input, it is determined in step S44 whether or not input has been made for a predetermined period of time, for example, one minute.

When the test data is input, the CPU 5 sends both the input test data and the test data transmitted to Tsushin N3h to the data comparison circuit 1o, and in step S45
The data comparison circuit 1° compares both data as shown below.
If they match, send a match signal to the CPU 5,
Upon receiving this, the CPU 5 appropriately processes the input test data and displays on the display 8 that there is no abnormality.

On the other hand, even if the predetermined time elapses in the process of step 844, the CP
If test data is not input to U5, or step S45. If both data do not match in the process of S46, C
The PU 5 determines that there is an abnormality in the signal transmission/reception route via the communication devices 3a and 3h, and displays this on the display 8 in step S47. Therefore, the operator can view this and execute appropriate repair processing.

The above-described process completes the first test pattern process of transmitting from the communication device i3h and receiving by the communication device 3a. The process then moves to step S5 shown in FIG. In this step S5, it is determined whether or not the second test pattern process of transmitting from the communication device 3h and receiving by the communication device 3b has been completed, and if it has not been completed, the process returns to step S4 and the process is continued. Execute. In this way, the test pattern is executed sequentially and every send,
The reception combinations, that is, 56 test patterns are executed and the test is completed.

With such testing equipment, the entire configuration of the monitoring center can be configured by an operator simply pressing a test request button, without having to dispatch a worker to the location where the terminal device is installed or setting up a separate mock terminal device. Tests can be performed at d locations.

In the above-described embodiment, the five auxiliary storage devices 9 and the data comparison circuit 10 are separately connected, but these are
It can also be stored in the PU 5 and provided as a comparison program. In addition, in comparing test comparative data,
An example of comparing whether or not the data at the time of transmission and the time of reception match is described above, but if the configuration is such that data is added to the received data at the time of reception, the comparison should take this into account. Of course, it is natural that the re-data corresponds accurately, and it is only necessary to determine whether or not the re-data corresponds accurately. Further, if there is a discrepancy between the test data and the received data, it is displayed on the display 8, but an alarm device, a printing device, etc. can be added to provide output means with various configurations.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, 56 test patterns are executed, but test data is transmitted from all communication devices at least once and received by another communication device different from the test data, and at least once. The test means may have a test pattern for transmitting test data from another communication device different from the test data so that all the communication devices receive the test data, and in the minimum embodiment, one transmission is required for each communication device. By executing a test pattern with one reception for each, it is possible to confirm that there are no abnormalities.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, in the present invention, test data is transmitted via a communication device, received via another communication device, and both the transmitted and received data are compared and judged. ,
All parts of the monitoring center can be easily tested without requiring any manpower or providing a separate simulated terminal device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a testing device for a monitoring center for a remote monitoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are flowcharts showing the operation of the main parts of FIG. 1, respectively. 1...Telephone exchange, 2a-2h...Telephone line, 3a-3h...Communication device, 40.41
... Communication processing device, 5 ... CPU, 8.
... Display, 9 ... Auxiliary storage device, 10 ... Data comparison circuit, 11 ... Monitoring center. Figure 1 Boiled Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of communication devices that send and receive signals to and from a large number of terminal devices via a switching center, and a device that creates a predetermined signal to be transmitted to a specific terminal device by the communication device, and also uses the communication device to send and receive signals to and from a large number of terminal devices. In a remote monitoring device monitoring center having a control device that performs predetermined processing based on received signals, predetermined test data is transmitted from all of the communication devices at least once and received by another different communication device. and testing means for transmitting the predetermined test data from another different communication device so that all the communication devices receive it at least once, and the predetermined data transmitted from each of the communication devices and each of the above. Comparing means for comparing the data received by the communication device, and output means for outputting an abnormality when the comparing means determines that the test data and the received data do not have an accurate correspondence relationship. A testing device for a monitoring center for a remote monitoring device, characterized in that: